New polls show Trump’s low approval rate in the first 100 days
Less than half of Americans have approved President Donald Trump in their first 100 days and have approved the new NPR/PBS News/Marist Voting Show.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at cutting funding for news outlet NPR and PBS, saying the White House is marking Trump’s latest attempt to use federal funds as leverage for institutions he has not seen favorably.
The order directs the company to “suspend direct funds” for public broadcasters that distribute funds to PBS and NPR stations, according to a text released by the White House on May 1.
“The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funds to the maximum extent permitted by law and deny future funding,” the order added.
Both NPR and PBS say Trump’s efforts to cut funds will disrupt key media services and have “devastating effects” on Americans who rely on trustworthy local and national news, including emergencies.
The Trump administration has labelled multiple institutions in the academia and media industry, from Harvard and Columbia University to NPR and PBS, as leftists, Marxism, prejudice, awakening, and threatening to cut funding. Human rights advocates raised concerns about freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The CPB sued the White House on April 28 after Trump attempted to fire three of his five board members. The Nonprofit Corporation was founded by Congress in 1967 and provides funding for more than 1,500 locally managed public radio and television stations.
Several media outlets have reported plans to ask the White House to ask Congress to withdraw $1.1 billion in funding for the CPB, amounting to two years’ worth of funding.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh of Washington, edited by Lincoln Feast.)